Middlesex in 101 Books to Read Before You Die

Mar 06, 2013 Jaclyn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own-in-print, favorites

I would love to explain to you how MAGNIFICENT this books is, but I'm not sure how.

This is the second time I've read Middlesex. The first time was about ten years ago and since then it sat on my favourites shelf (both on Goodreads and my physical favourites shelf in my lounge) and I gradually forgot why it got there in the first place. This year it was required reading for my studies and it all came back very suddenly – this is one of the best books I've ever read.

What makes this book so good? A ...more

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Dec 25, 2009 Allison boozy bookworm rated it really liked it

Shelves: can-t-put-down, drama, library-books, fiction

From my blog: https://bookgirl1987thoughts.wordpres...

I took my time with this novel, savoring every page. I had no choice; had I read it any faster I would have missed something important. Clocking in at 529 pages, Jeffrey Eugenides’s Middlesex impressed me greatly. If you’ve read the book (or even just the premise) you will understand why I refer to Calliope as a female, as she has been raised in this way and initially identifies as a girl. Any book about hermaphroditism (I think that’s a word From my blog: https://bookgirl1987thoughts.wordpres...

I took my time with this novel, savoring every page. I had no choice; had I read it any faster I would have missed something important. Clocking in at 529 pages, Jeffrey Eugenides’s Middlesex impressed me greatly. If you’ve read the book (or even just the premise) you will understand why I refer to Calliope as a female, as she has been raised in this way and initially identifies as a girl. Any book about hermaphroditism (I think that’s a word, but didn’t find it in the dictionary) isn’t going to be an easy read; the topic is so bizarre and interesting. Of course, the novel would not have been complete or as poignant without the background chapters leading the way to Cal’s androgynous identity. I felt sympathy for Calliope Stephanides (notice the Greek surname, much like the author’s?) and the troubling childhood she endured not knowing where she belonged in a world set on delineation.

The emotional and physical confusion she faced decades after her grandparent’s union made me cringe with sadness. Although this novel posits a narrative of incest, Desdemona and Lefty’s story is nonetheless one of love. The idea of a brother and sister pretending marriage to gain access to the U.S.A. didn’t disturb me, and the feelings and behaviors they indulged in didn’t strike me as wholly disastrous. Somehow, maybe through Desdemona’s conscience and prayers I sensed there would be a happy ending to the story. Desdemona’s apprehension and guilt over her/their unclean actions made me hurt for her especially, but I laughed when she became concerned early in the book that she would give birth to some kind of alien child. I understood both Desdemona and Lefty’s desperate determination to leave their dying country and make better lives for themselves and their eventual families.

As a young girl, Calliope tried boys on for size but found they didn’t fit. I believe she wholeheartedly tried to like and connect with them emotionally and sexually, but the normal fascination with the “opposite” sex was not present for her. When it came time to experiment with girls she found her desire aroused in the mysterious Object. However, that romance, as awkward and reciprocal as it seemed, was not to be. Of course Calliope was devastated when the Object left the picture, causing her to fumble further for the slightest grasp of her identity. The stint at Sixty-Niners was beautifully conveyed, as Calliope fell into the nightly ritual of discovering what she had to physically offer the world. I applauded her bravery in becoming “the God Hermaphroditus”; while reading this section of the novel I sensed things were falling into place for her, finally. Cal’s friendship/relationship with Julie Kikuchi reminded me that some people will love us no matter what our past reveals—simply because they’re more interested in the future. I got the feeling that perhaps Cal and Julie had a fulfilling relationship on some level, even if it wasn’t excessively sexual.

I tend to enjoy highly improbable (or rare) events being depicted in fiction. Stories of mentally/physically challenging lifestyles make me appreciate how normal I really am. I never had to worry about finding myself through gender exploration; the biological, mental, and emotional road map was there—complete—and I can’t imagine the struggles faced by those with more ambiguous plans. However, the story of Calliope Stephanides brought me the insight I was lacking previously. The fact that this book tells a clinical story from a fictional standpoint makes it all the more important. Mr. Eugenides filled this novel’s characters with humble human qualities, avoiding what could have been a sanitized version of events in the Stephanides family. I never felt I was reading a sensational case study of Calliope Stephanides; I was just reading the thoughts and family history of a young woman on the way to literally finding herself. I highly recommend this novel if you’re curious about gender and sexual identity; the novel is wonderfully written and has cemented Mr. Eugenides as one of my favorite authors. ...more

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May 31, 2016 Alana rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: pulitzer-prize-fiction, boxall-s-1001-books

So after finally getting around to it, here are my thoughts on this one:

The basic story is incredibly compelling and out of the ordinary. The historical aspects of Greece, Detroit, the study of hermaphroditism, etc, were all very interesting. The writing, I think, needed some editing. It felt like what it was--a male author trying to imagine being a young female. All of young Callie's upbringing and especially her transition to a male, all felt flat and unemotional. Honestly, the scenes with the ...more

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Dec 14, 2014 Irene rated it really liked it

I loved the use of language, the skillful crafting of characters, the balance of tongue-in-cheek humor with poignant observations. This is a three generational family drama of first generation Greek Americans. In order to make sense of his identity, the narrator needs to relate his history beginning with grandparents who fled a small mountain village amid war, parents who tried to assimilate fully into mid-century, mid-Western America to give birth to his own transformation from little girl to m ...more

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May 14, 2014 Sagheer Afzal rated it it was ok

This is a very slow book. At the end of 250 pages I lost interest. The theme is intriguing but the other stuff about incestuous siblings and first cousins and a cameo character who turns out to be the leader of the nation of Islam fails to grip you.

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